Healing Begins
by turbomagnus
Summary: The idea of being used for 'boyfriend duties' was an entirely new experience for Reid. Reid/Lila.


Summary: The idea of being used for 'boyfriend duties' was an entirely new experience for Reid. Reid/Lila.

Disclaimer: The author would like it known that they do not own "Criminal Minds" and are simply using for entertainment purposes without permission or intent to profit. Spoilers for S01E13 and S02E01, "The Fisher King", parts one and two.

-o0O0o-

"Healing Begins"  
By J.T. Magnus, 'Turbo'

-o0o-

"The evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones."  
\- 'Julius Caesar', William Shakespeare.

-o0O0o-

The 'Fisher King' had left his marks on the Behavioral Analysis Unit, not just with Elle Greenaway's being shot in the line of duty and currently on three months of mandatory medical leave, but in the hearts and minds of the other Agents of the BAU. Gideon had lost his cabin sanctuary, Hotchner felt the effects of having ordered Elle home where she was shot, but probably the one taking the case the hardest was Spencer Reid. He couldn't help but feel that ultimately it had been all his fault because it had been his letters to his mother, letters she had read to other patients, that had combined with his mother's teaching of early English Literature and the already fragile mind of one patient to create the belief that they were the 'Fisher King' of Arthurian legends and Reid and the rest of his team were the Knights of the Round Table and the patient's only surviving child was the Holy Grail. Four people, including the 'Fisher King' had died; a girl had spent two years imprisoned in a basement; Elle had barely survived, almost dying in surgery, all because one man had lost himself in delusions and made to pull others in with him.

Reid loved his mother and the case had, in fact, helped him come to terms with actually visiting her in Las Vegas; but he simply didn't know if he'd ever again be comfortable sharing anything about work and his coworkers with her either in person or by letter. He knew she simply shared his letters because she was proud of him, but from now on he would never know and always wonder about the people that were listening to her read them. There would always be the concern that, if one of them became as detached from reality as the 'Fisher King', they too might become one of the team's future UnSubs. For someone whose entire expertise was based on what they knew and could extrapolate, the not-knowing was as bad as the possibility even existing, perhaps worse. It didn't help that every case he looked at, the UnSub had a methodology and a victimology that had to be analysed, broken down and used to create the profile the team needed to find them; every time over the last few weeks, looking at another UnSub's methodology and victimology brought back up thoughts of the 'Fisher King's' own.

It was a vicious cycle that was leaving Reid wondering if he could continue as a criminal profiler or if it might be time to move on to something else. He had offers from throughout the government and even the private sector that all he had to do was accept one of them. He was so caught up in pondering the possibility of entering another line of work away from serial murderers and rapists, kidnappers and torturers that he never heard the phone ring, even on his desk. His focus was more on if accepting offers to work in trial analysis or multi-vectored consultations were too close to his current line of work to be comfortable in them or not. When the phone rang a second time, fellow BAU agent Derek Morgan at the desk across the aisle from Reid sighed before picking up his handset and pressing the button for the active line.

"Behavioral Analysis Unit, Morgan."

He listened to the female voice on the other end of the phone speak before answering her, "Sure, just a moment. I'll have to put you on hold."

The woman offered her acknowledgement and Morgan pressed the appropriate buttons before returning the handset to its cradle. Shaking his head at the fact that the younger man was still lost in his thoughts, Morgan pushed his chair out into the aisle between his desk and Reid's before reaching out to tap him on the shoulder, making the other man jump in his seat and jerk his head around.

"Hey, Reid, phone for you; it's Li-la Ar-cher," Morgan teased, saying the name in a sing-song voice, hoping to get some kind of reaction from the other man.

The former police officer mentally noted that he could have used sunglasses because of the way Reid's face lit up as soon as he heard the actress's name. For someone who grew up in Vegas and counted cards almost instinctively, the other agent didn't seem to have that good of a poker face at most times. Considering the grim look that Reid had been wearing for the last few weeks, ever since the 'Fisher King' case, the change was something Morgan considered a welcome difference. The scramble for the phone on his desk that Reid made, like a high schooler who'd just been told the prom queen was calling him, only made Morgan smile more as he rolled back behind his desk. It was good to see the younger man not acting like the weight of the world was on his shoulders with no help to support it for a change. Leaning back in his seat, Morgan knit his fingers together behind his head and let his eyes close. There'd be another case sooner or later, but for now he was sure that Reid needed this call.

-o0o-

Morgan wasn't sure how much time was passing, but Reid was still on the phone when Jason Gideon walked into the bullpen with a folder in his hand and looked over the railing at the BAU team.

"Alright, Round Table room," Gideon announced, then paused before adding. "Reid, finish your phone call first."

Mentally, Reid winced and hoped neither Gideon watching nor Lila listening over the phone were able to tell; the Round Table that the team met at to discuss their cases had played such a large role in the 'Fisher King's psychosis that Reid wasn't comfortable with calling it the 'Round Table' or saying that they met in the 'Round Table room' and he wasn't sure if he would be for some time even if he remained with the BAU.

Morgan, however, did notice the other man's action and mentally sighed; since they'd met, Lila had been good for Reid, she'd helped him develop more outside of facts, figures and theories. If he ever wanted to joke about it, he could even say that she was helping Pinnochio become a real boy. He hoped the wince wasn't a sign of problems developing between them. It'd probably cause the other man to go diving back into his books for good if something did go wrong and Morgan was pretty sure that was something that they should try to avoid. Unfortunately, there was no way to avoid Gideon's wrath if anyone was late for a briefing, so Morgan stood up and pushed his chair in behind him. Giving the younger man a friendly pat on the shoulder, he tried not to feel hurt at the way Reid's head jerked around and he looked surprised at the action before nodding and heading off in the direction of the Round Table room.

-o0o-

A few minutes later, the call continued as neither party seemed inclined to rush to end it. Now that the original reason for the call had been concluded, they had moved on to other, minor topics; weekend plans, the weather, topics with little deeper meaning meant simply to extend their conversation. It was unfortunate for them that Reid, distracted as he was, never noticed someone approaching from off to the side until they were interrupting that conversation.

"Still on the phone, Reid?"

"Just a moment, Lila," Reid said into the phone before looking over at the speaker. "Shouldn't you be with the rest of the team?"

"They're looking at the pictures of past victims; I only like to taste my meals once," Penelope Garcia answered with a shrug. "Don't mind me, go back to your phone fun... well, as long as you two weren't having too much fun; I think they monitor those lines."

"Garcia!" Reid almost immediately understood the woman's implications and blushed bright red from them.

The reaction on the other end of the phone conversation was loud enough that it could faintly be heard in Quantico, "Spencer! Are you alright?"

"It's alright, Lila, I'm fine," Reid quickly reassured her. "One of my teammates just took me by surprise, that's all. No, I don't think you need to do that, really. Lila, it's okay, I'm okay, everything's okay. Why don't I talk to Gideon about a few days off and come out there, how does that sound? Well, if you're sure it's not necessary... okay, just to see you, then. Next week, hopefully. Take care and enjoy yourself, Lila."

With that, the conversation ended and Reid moved to put the handset back on its cradle.

"I believe our relationship has reached a milestone," Reid remarked after he had hung up the phone.

"Oh, do tell," Garcia shifted into 'Gossip Gertie' mode.

"It seems that Lila has now officially used me with which to threaten someone."

"Anyone in particular?"

"The producer of a certain television show, one of the many mis-classified 'procedural-dramas' - mis-classified as the primary focus frequently is the drama over the procedure - has been making repeated requests for her to appear as a guest actress on the show," Reid answered. "It's reached the point where Lila informed him that if she were to be a guest on the show, she would bring 'her boyfriend' to the set and allow me to point out every procedural inaccuracy, factual error and flawed premise I could find; adding that, as I work for the FBI, she was sure there would be plenty."

The computer expert was somewhat impressed, "Woah."

Reid looked at her for a moment as he thought, "That's good, right?"

"I think it's somewhere out in right field, but yeah, I guess it's a good thing for you two," Garcia answered.

"What does baseball have to do with relationships?" Reid asked with a frown.

"I think... I'm gonna let Derek explain that one," the blonde remarked in discomfort.

Fortunately for Garcia, she was saved by Gideon sticking his head out from the Round Table Room and calling out, "If you two are finished, the case is waiting..."

-o0O0o-

"When you're courting a nice girl, an hour can seem like a second. When you're sitting on a hot cinder, a second can seem like an hour. That's relativity."  
\- attributed to Albert Einstein.


End file.
